After a months-long investigation, the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct recently issued a public warning in the Adams case. That means he gets to go back to work on the bench for the remaining two years of his term.

Adams has been on paid suspension since last fall after a secretly recorded seven-and-a-half minute video in which he is seen striking his then-teenage daughter at least 17 times with a belt was posted on the Internet.

In the video, recorded in 2004, the judge is heard yelling profanities at his daughter and threatening further physical harm for having allegedly illegally downloaded music from the Internet.

In its finding of facts, the commission states it interviewed 15 lawyers who practiced in Adams' court. They all praised him for being fair and knowledgeable about the law, but only six remained supportive of him.

Six others stated they did not think Adams could continue to be effective on the bench because of the public's perception of his lack of fairness and impartiality as a result of the video. The commission also heard from 10 witnesses, including several lawyers, who described Adams displaying poor judicial demeanor toward certain attorneys in his courtroom. Included among the lawyers he disrespected in his courtroom was former Aransas County Attorney Jim Anderson.

The commission, which is not known for coming down too hard on judges, found Adams in violation of the Texas Constitution and Texas Code of Judicial Conduct yet only issued a public warning.

It is not particularly surprising.

Between 2008 and 2011, more than 4,000 judicial complaints were filed with the commission. Only 73 public sanctions were issued.

We hope voters in Aransas County have higher standards for their judges than the commission on judicial conduct when Adams comes up for re-election in a couple of years.